Top MLB beat writers?

That's a classic Yankees Bronx Zoo era story. Funny saw Henry bouncing around the stadium yesterday like the emperor returning. I laughed to myself thinking half the press box was not out of diapers yet and had no clue what pain this funny little man has caused the Yankees in the early 80's.

 

He hasn't been an "MLB beat writer" for a long time.

 

Every name mentioned on this thread could be the baseball beat writer for my imaginary paper anytime. Those sumbitches would all sell papers, plenty of 'em.
Re: Gammons' Game Six story (which was fabulous, in fact, the whole Globe section was amazing that next day). The late columnist Ray Fitzgerald was next to Gammons in the press box and said that as Gammons typed away feverishly, he paused for one moment to ask, "what was the final score again?"
Anyone who's written a gamer on that kind of deadline has been there.

 

Michael, my standard question is: What day is it again? 

 

Tim and Michael: Agree completely on Gammons' Game 6 story - i have it somewhere in a box, same with his gamer from the final regular season game before the Bucky Dent Game. ... It's probably unlikely, but anybody have a link to any of his 1975 World Series gamers?

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=2118859
This is his Game 6 story.

 

That's a gamer?

 

Are you more likely to kick ass as an MLB writer if your surname begins with an 'S'?

 

I like Schulmann, basically because he was a writer for the same paper I work for (in a similar position) so that gives me hope as a young writer.

 

Gracias

 

I thought the same thing, Lee, it was more like a column.
But that's what they linked to, good writing nonetheless.

 

Damn, that's a good story. I grew up reading Gammons and was lucky enough to work with him in the 80s (and, briefly before he died, with Ray Fitz -- thanks for bringing him up, Mike Gee, he was one of the greatest).

I think that story is an example of the approach I try to take now while writing the gamer at any big event -- treat it as history. What will someone, calling up this clip on Lexis-Nexis, want to know about this day? Not just the score and the statistical stuff -- we can get that anywhere. But the atmosphere, the trivia, the feeling of being at the event. Gammons did this well -- the fans chanting "LOO-EE! LOO-EE! Organist John Kiley playing the "Hallelujah Chorus" after Fisk's home run. Exactly what time it was when the game ended. Dick Schaap collecting MVP ballots when everybody thought it would be a Red.

Yeah, that's a gamer, all right. Just not the kind of gamer a lot of us -- and a lot of our editors -- are used to. What are there -- two direct quotes? I can just imagine the response of some editors to this today. But to me, it's a masterpiece. Funny thing is, I have no memory of any of us from that Globe desk considering Gammons an especially good writer (of course, like newspaper people everywhere, we rarely gave anybody credit for anything, because it would have interrupted our constant bitching). But we also were comparing him to people like Ray Fitz, Montville, John Powers and Bud Collins -- people who really could type. (And from what would later be your side of the aisle, Mike, Tim Horgan. I may be forgetting some others.) I'm glad I saw that link, because it corrects a mistaken impression I've had for a long time.